John Brodersen
03-16-2010, 09:44 PM
Ball specs – 15 lbs 2 oz, 2.44 top weight, and 3.25 -inch pin.
The polished Dark Star has a very appealing blue pearl and purple pearl color scheme.
The Dark Star was drilled with a 4.5-inch pin, 30-degree drill angle and a 70-degree VAL angle. This put the pin about 3/8 of an inch under the ring finger with the CG bumped to the right about three inches. This layout required an extra hole that was placed on the VAL on a line drawn from the grip center thru the CG to the VAL. (Approximately a P2 hole) Ending side weight was ˝ positive. The cover stock was left OOB.
I threw the Dark Star and the Riot on a fresh, softer oil pattern. The Dark Star provided very easy length down the lane, about two to three feet more than the Riot, with a predictable but strong backend move. The backend recovery was more than I expected. Hit and carry also exceeded my expectations for an entry-level piece. Track flare was in the four inch range and the rings were fairly close but not over lapping, similar to the Riot. First set with the Dark Star was 746.
Using an existing cover stock with the new Photon core (.040 differential) allows the Dark Star (and Riot) to fill the gap nicely between the stronger Nomads and the weaker Planet series balls. The Dark Star will make a nice addition to anyone’s arsenal.
John Brodersen
The polished Dark Star has a very appealing blue pearl and purple pearl color scheme.
The Dark Star was drilled with a 4.5-inch pin, 30-degree drill angle and a 70-degree VAL angle. This put the pin about 3/8 of an inch under the ring finger with the CG bumped to the right about three inches. This layout required an extra hole that was placed on the VAL on a line drawn from the grip center thru the CG to the VAL. (Approximately a P2 hole) Ending side weight was ˝ positive. The cover stock was left OOB.
I threw the Dark Star and the Riot on a fresh, softer oil pattern. The Dark Star provided very easy length down the lane, about two to three feet more than the Riot, with a predictable but strong backend move. The backend recovery was more than I expected. Hit and carry also exceeded my expectations for an entry-level piece. Track flare was in the four inch range and the rings were fairly close but not over lapping, similar to the Riot. First set with the Dark Star was 746.
Using an existing cover stock with the new Photon core (.040 differential) allows the Dark Star (and Riot) to fill the gap nicely between the stronger Nomads and the weaker Planet series balls. The Dark Star will make a nice addition to anyone’s arsenal.
John Brodersen